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Resident warns advisory board of drainage risks tied to Chamisa Hills rezoning proposal
Summary
A resident and former advisory-board member urged the Public Infrastructure Advisory Board to seek engineering drainage data before rezoning Chamisa Hills, saying the nearby main drain is likely at capacity and that on-site ponding for runoff could risk flooding older neighborhoods to the east.
During the meeting’s public forum, two residents spoke. Retired professional engineer Michael Jackovich said he has followed the board’s work since its first meeting in 2017 and described the advisory board’s origins. Michael Farrell commented on a proposed Chamisa Hills rezoning and urged caution on drainage approvals.
Farrell said staff had supplied a letter to the planning and zoning authority that described the developer’s informal meetings with staff and noted the authority’s neutral position. Speaking as a private citizen, he said the project should not move forward without a drainage plan demonstrating that runoff from the development can be safely managed. “The main drain is at capacity,” Farrell said, and adding more than 300 homes plus commercial development would create a large amount of impermeable surface that could increase flood risk for established neighborhoods to the east. He urged the advisory board and staff to require engineering evidence that on-site ponding would be safe before approving any zone change.
Board members did not comment substantively on the rezoning during the meeting and said no immediate action would be taken by the advisory board at this time.
Ending: Farrell asked that staff and board members ensure technical drainage analysis is made available to planning bodies and the public should the developer proceed with a formal application.
